Raising money to help Filipino priests in Rome

MANHATTAN — The Archbishop of Manila, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, was in New York City for a special dinner earlier this month.

The cardinal hosted a fundraising event held at the home of the permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, or what many refer to as the place where the pope stays when he’s in town.

Father Greg Gaston, who was accompanying the cardinal, tells us they are raising money for the Pontificio Collegio Filippino, the home of Filipino priests in Rome.

“We’re trying to raise funds so we can complete our heavy-duty kitchen that is eventually going to serve about 80 people every day and during feasts, hundreds of people as well.”

Cardinal Tagle explains how the Collegio has also become a familiar place for many Filipinos in Italy.

“With increasing number of overseas Filipino workers in Italy, the Collegio is also the venue, the home for gathering of Filipinos, especially during feasts and independence day. So it’s really a home away from home.”

But the main purpose of the fundraising is to provide scholarships to priests, especially those coming from poor dioceses and local churches in the Philippines.

Cardinal Tagle says any financial support is greatly appreciated, but they do have an even more important request.

“We ask for your prayers and your support. We might have a good house. We might have scholarship funds, but we need really the guidance of the Holy Spirit so that our young students and our young priests will really grow in spirituality and knowledge, and also a sense of mission.”

I am a Catholic, but I don’t understand, why the Catholic church lack money to provide scholarship to young priest. PH population is 104Million, 86Million are Catholic. Assuming, every Sunday 1/2 Catholics go to church every Sunday, each donate 1 Peso = 43MPesos x 4= 172M Pesos a month collection tax Free. How about Wednesday Novena, sales of candles, death anniverssary, baptisimal, marriage ceremony, Filipino rich family donated hectares of land to churches, by the way, church goers seldom gives 1 Peso, lowest is 10 Pesos. This donation has no government audit, it is Tax Free…. Where is the money going..Someone is pocketing or stealing the money. In America, IRS has a way to find out how much a charitable institutions are making. Are Filipino politicians are afraid of the church?